local

HyperLocal Advertising – The Bare Necessities

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I’ve been doing a lot of work for companies needing “hyperlocal” advertising for the last half decade.  Businesses like Foursquare, Gowalla  ,  Facebook, Yelp, and other social media outlets have definitely convoluted hyperlocal advertising and promotion.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

A few years ago, a well edited kml file attached to the Google Maps API, a halfway decent landing page, and a claimed Google Listing almost certainly guaranteed high ranking for localized searches.  Today, competition and a more internet savvy userbase has increased the complexity of a successful localized marketing campaign.  Below I have included some quick tips to help start your journey into hyperlocal advertising.

Claim You Local Listings – This is the newest change to local advertising and needs to be the first thing you do after reading this post.  Go here and claim you Google Places listing from google.  More than likely it will take a few weeks for the postcard and phone number to arrive, but you need your listing in the “directory” if you’re going to have success down the road.

Create a Localized Landing Page –  No matter what size business you are running, having a personalized and localized landing page is necessary for hyperlocal advertising success.  If you’re a franchise with strict guidelines there may be some red tape, but work with your marketing team to make sure you have a landing page with these key elements.

    1. Keyword Rich Content – If you know anything about SEO or PPC you will understand why keyword rich content is important, especially for local landing pages.  If you’re a florist in Dallas, Texas, or a Carpet Cleaner in Phoenix Arizona, you definitely want to have descriptive keywords to describe to potential customers what you do and what you’re about.  This is SEO 101.
    2. Phone number in the upper right corner of the page –  This is more about best practices,
 but users have inherently learned to look for contact information in the upper right hand corner of any B2C page they visit.  Over a decade of reinforcement has made this practice a mainstay for the foreseeable future.  Just place your 10-digits in the upper right hand corner and conversions will be increased.
  1. Address above the fold –  This should really be a 2a. Especially for local businesses.  You need to have an address readily accessible to your visitors.  If you are a B2C with a brick and mortar it is absolutely imperative to your local advertising campaigns to let your customers know where you are and in addition to that they need to know….
  2. Google Map API, with the ability to give directions – How to get to you.  Visualization is the easiest way for potential customers to see where you are.  If you can show a user where you are on a map, and give them an option to get directions to your location, you will have a much higher conversion rate.  Google Maps makes both of these tasks extremely easy.  There is no reason not to toss the API code onto your site and make it easier for your customers to find your store.
  3. Hours of Operation – Continuing the trend of basic information that needs to be included.  This key metadata is critical to potential customers.  If you own a business that has non-standard hours, this information is even more critical. If a customer doesn’t know your hours of operation and shows up outside of those hours, you will more than likely lose a customer and the lifetime value they provide.  It is simple to include your hours of operation on your site.  Customers will appreciate it.  Don’t forget to update your hours during the holidays.
  4. Value Proposition or Call to Action – Don’t forget to give your customers an incentive.  Sometimes a call to action is all someone needs to start the buying funnel and convert a lead into a customer.  Including an updated list of current offers, promotions, or incentives, is a simple and reliable way to give your customers the perception of value and drive further conversions.  Don’t forget to included expiration dates or deadlines to create urgency!
  5. Access to user reviews – Customers trust other customers.  If you have primarily bad reviews, this may not be a good bullet, but if you have moderate to great reviews, definitely use these reviews to highlight the positives of shopping with your business.  If your reviews are less than stellar, offer incentives to happy customers to post a review for a a future discount or another offer.  Remember, happy customers rarely leave reviews.  They buy their product and go on their merry way.  Unhappy customers will leave terrible reviews in many different places and can be difficult to placate.  This makes happy customers even more valuable.  Do your best to encourage positive reviews whenever possible.
  6. links to social media  – Social Media is the future… er, um.. the present.  Right now there is a very large focus on social media.  Use this to  your advantage by linking your local pages to your social media sites.  Also, link your social media sites to your localized landing pages.  Use cross-promotion where necessary to encourage overlap and exposure.  If you can, offer incentives to users who are willing to leverage your social media assets.  This will allow you “push” access to your customers and you will be able to reach them more easily and effectively.

So, you’ve done all your hard work and have an amazing, functional, and informational landing page ready for your customers to visit.  Now its time to make sure this is the main site you’re generating localized visibility through.  Make sure you’ve linked to this site on local search engines and other outlets including:

Pay Per Click Advertising –  Bonus!!!!  If you have any budget left for marketing, I highly recommend testing a local PPC campaign to your landing page.  It is easy to setup, integrate, and launch.  And you can market your site with maximum exposure and very little upfront cost.  Done correctly, a PPC campaign can cost < $300.00 a month and generate far more revenue.  If you’d like help discussing setting up a PPC campaign with a proven adwords expert.  Contact me, I’d love to help.

 

Hyper Local SEO that Will Survive The Test Of Time

Blog, Guest Authors, local, Search Engines, SEO 1 Comment , , , , , ,

Dallas, hyper local SEOLocal SEO has seen some major changes in the past year.  Since 2010 Google has completely changed the way they handle local keywords.  For example “city name + keyword” went from a 3 pack to a 7 pack, then to a 10 pack and then they created a whole new search result category called blended results.  Now, when you search for a local company, you will see a mixture of “places” results, a few organic results, some ads (of course) and usually a few pictures or videos.

Local search can seam like a volatile market, and even though there have been some major changes lately, there is still an underlining steadiness.  Here are 3 straight forward approaches to localizing your site’s content.  I won’t lie to you and say they are easy, but they are simple.  If you follow them, you will see positive results.

 

1. It’s Ok To NAP On The Job 

Your “NAP” is the foundation of all local SEO efforts.  NAP stands for, Name, Address and Phone Number.  Every year David Mhim releases an exhaustive study called “Local Ranking Factors,” in which he reveals the most important on and off page elements in local SEO.  Every year local citations makes the top of the list.  In fact, this year NAP ranked #4 right behind having an address in the city you want to rank for,  (thank you captain obvious, jk,) and verifying your page with Google (which you can do here.)

Google looks at your NAP wAs you can imagine, there are hundreds of millions of businesses worldwide, and they all have a unique address.  Because of this, Google requires that you have your local citation formatted EXACTLY the same every time you list it.  It would be statistically improbable for Google to figure out different variations of every companies NAP and attribute them to the right place. The best way to format your NAP/local citation is to create a text file that lists your companies information, then you can just copy and paste it into different directories.

 

Your NAP might look something like this. 

BrewSEO

530-636-2412

2920 Veda St, Redding, California 96001

Tags/ Categories: example keywords (sorry fellas, I’m not going to give away my target keywords that easy!) 

Image:  Decide what image to use, and stick with it.  

Description: This is an inbound marketing company..etc. 

 

Once you have your NAP formatted go to every local directory you can find (most of them are free) and create a profile.

Pro Tip: Use yext.com to find a good list of local directories.  Instead of paying them to create a listing for you, download their list into a spreadsheet and go make the profiles yourself.

 

Dallas SEO, hyperlocal2. Hyper Localize Your Content:

Once you have your local citations under hand, it’s time to start optimizing your site. (You do have a website, right?  If not, go find a good web designer and hire them to build you one!) There are a few things you can do to instantly improve your rankings.

 

Have your NAP on every page of your site 

One of the easiest ways of doing this is to put your address and phone number in your site’s footer/header.  It’s up to you how you list it, but make sure it’s uniform and user friendly.

 

Use Local Keywords In Your Page Titles

If you have a carpet cleaning site, you can create a page title that looks like this: City Name Carpet Cleaning | Your Company Name.  When you make a title, put your keyword first, and your company name second.  Unless you have a household brand, it’s better to keep your keywords on the left of your brand name. This will help you rank higher in SERPS, and it will tell visitors exactly what your site is about.

 

Hyper Localize Your Images

When you upload an image, make sure the image is named something relevant to your local keywords.  Use the name of your city, and your keywords in the image title.  After you upload the image also make sure the alt text of your image uses local keywords. Here is an example of locally optimized alt text:

<a href=”where you want the image to link to“><img src=”the url of your image. This is probably going to be hosted on your web-server” alt=” your local keyword. this should also describe the picture.” title=”the name of your image. this should have your city name in it.” width=”xxx” height=”xxx” /></a>

After you’ve localized the images on your site, you can also upload them to Panoramio. Panoramio allows you to add geo tags to your image.  It will set the longitude and latitude of your picture, and give your site even more local emphasis.  When you upload your image to Panoramio, set the coordinates to your office address.  When you do this it will also allow your picture to show up in your Google Places profile.

 

3. Get Creative With Local Pages


Lastly, you need to have locally optimized content on your website.  We’ve all heard the somewhat annoying mortar, “content is king” while every SEO is tired of hearing this, it still holds some truth.  The truth is that yes, content is still king, but the reasons that statement is true has dramatically changed over the past 10 years.For the purposes of these local SEO tips, your content needs to at least mention your city name and keywords.  If you have a company that has offices in multiple cities, you can  create “local page profiles” for each one of your offices.The trick here is to create relevant and high-quality copy that isn’t duplicate content. There are a few ways you can do this. 

Do Local Pages Like Pink Berry 

Pinkberry takes a minimalist approach to local content.  You can use their store locater to find their locations.  Each location has the store address, store hours, the store’s services (catering, deliver, etc…) the store’s name, and a newsfeed from their blog. That’s it!  If you take this approach, you’ll have to do a little extra link building.  But with a few high-quality links, you’ll be able to rank competitively for your keyword.

 

Do Local Pages Like Nerds On Call

The other option is to take an over and above approach to local content and create a sub-site for each store that has completely unique content.  (This is a project that I worked on.)  Each store has a local page that is highly customized, and has unique content.  You can check out a few of them here and here.

The trick here is to create unique content.  Do not copy/past content from one sub-site to another one.  Lazy duplicate content is one of the worst things you can do to your site.  If your company has locations in multiple cities, the chances are you also have enough employees to make this work.  You can easily leverage your employes to help you create unique content.  If you sell a service, then take the descriptions you used for your services. Interview your employees about the services you offer, and re-write the service descriptions using their own words.  Everyone talks, and describes things a little differently, so you’ll have unique copy about your services directly from an industry expert.  You’ll have to do a lot more work if you choose to use this approach, but it will pay off in the end.

Local SEO is under a major overhaul, with the creation of Google + Local pages, and Google’s new local PPC ads.  Not to worry, if you follow these techniques, your site will survive almost any google algorithm change that happens.


About Bryant Jaquez.  Bryant is the founder of the innovative and creative marketing firm BrewSEO.  BrewSEO is full of SEO Extraordinaire, Social Media Moguls, Web Designer Superstars and Branding Geniuses. You can follow us @brewseo

How to Get Local Traffic from Google+

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We have another guest posting about Local Search.  Today Ashley Bennett  will be discussing the benefits of Google+ and how to get local traffic. 

What is Google+ Local and Why You Should Care

Google+ imageGoogle+ is a new social media network created by Google.  It is most similar to Facebook, but it also has a lot of unique features that are not present on other social media networks.  It is a place for businesses and people alike, so there are ways to share messages, videos, and just about anything else on the website.  In the initial stages you had to be invited to join the network, but now Google+ is currently open to the general public now.  It is not quite as popular as Facebook or Twitter, but you should care because there are a lot of people on the website and it will give you a chance to promote yourself.

Tips to Optimize Your Google+ Listing

– Claim your Google+ if you have not already done so

Google will automatically create a listing for your business in most cases, whether you know or not, so it is up to you to claim it.  Unfortunately, a lot of businesses will fail to claim their profile on Google+  and simply leave everything to chance.  It is recommended that you claim your business, start a Google + account, and start making people aware of your presence.

– Maintain accurate information about your business

One of the biggest problems that businesses have online is making sure that customers know how to contact them.  A lot of businesses have websites and social media accounts, but in some cases they will have inaccurate contact information.  This could be something like a different phone number, email, or even web address.  It is essential that all of your information is current so that people know how to contact you.

– Use local keywords

Emphasize the use of local keywords on your website and social media pages.  This means you should use terms like “San Francisco Photographer” or “Chicago Restaurant”.  Try to use the terms naturally in a post or add them as part of your keywords on your post, but do not over do it.  It is best to use 3-5 keywords in your post to prevent diluting the strength of those keywords.

– Communicate with customers on Google+

Given that Google+ is a social media network, you definitely need to be social even if you are acting as a business.  Round up your customers on that are Google+ and start a group.  Start posting news about your business or offering coupons or discounts on Google+.

– Encourage positive reviews from your customers

As you probably know, people are allowed to write reviews of your business on your account, so you need to make sure that they have positive things to say about it.  You are not allowed to compensate people for these types of posts, but you can encourage customers that have had positive experiences to tell others about it on the website.

– Link your Google+ to your website and tell your customers about it

One of the most important things you can do to get traffic from Google+ is to link your website to the page and vice versa.  People should be able to get all of your social media links from your website and they should also be able to reach your website from your profile.  Although it sounds really simple, a lot people forget to do it.

Google+ is gaining popularity everyday, so it is better to join in on the action early.  It has a very intuitive interface and most find it easy to use, so go ahead and get started today.

Ashley Bennett is a marketing consultant and owner of MarketingMages.com.

Think Global, Market Local: How the Internet Attracts Customers from the Neighborhood

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Announcement! We have our first guest post from fellow internet marketing ninja Shane Jones.  Thanks for taking the time to write this post for us.  It provides some great local marketing tips!

We often think of the Internet as a way to reach customers all over the world, but you don’t have to be a global company to reap the benefits.  In fact, online marketing can be a great way to reach customers right in your own neighborhood.

Everything is moving online, including your local newspaper, magazine, and radio station.  Since more and more of your customers are spending significant amounts of time online, you need to take your local marketing strategy there as well.  Here are a few ways to do it.

Get Listed

Your town may have listings on Citysearch and Craigslist, but it most definitely has listings on sites like Yellowpages and Yelp.  When you publish your site, get more traffic by registering it on all those sites.

Some web hosting services provide the tools and instructions for getting listed in local web searches.  Many of these sites will display your business name, address, website address, phone number, and even reviews from happy customers.  This helps local customers decide if your business can best meet their needs, but it’s also great if your business provides a service that people will need immediately when they search for it.  After all, how often is someone going to casually browse for a service like rodent control?

Advertise on Local Media

As mentioned above, your local newspapers, magazines, and radio stations are hosting their own websites.  Since you probably already advertise in their traditional formats, why not advertise online as well?

In fact, this is a good way to create an integrated strategy.  Buy your usual ad space, but throw in a few well-placed banner and display ads in the process.  This serves two purposes.

First, it creates a more cost-effective, accountable way to reach local customers.  Second, since traditional readers and listeners also go online, it doubles the chances that they’ll learn about—and reach out to—your business.

Create Locally Based Content

Blogs and other forms of content marketing have become very popular ways to promote your business and drive more traffic and sales.  But not many people create content that integrates their business expertise with their location.  Now is the time for you to start.

For instance, if you run a clothing store, you could talk about the same fashion trends that everyone else is talking about, or you could talk about the fashion trends you’re seeing as you walk around your town.  If you do this, you’ll see another benefit – because you’re focused on your local area, your search engine rankings will catch the attention of local people looking for your type of business, which is exactly what you want.

Find the Customers Next Door

The Internet spans the globe, but it’s a pretty good way to find customers in your own community as well.  Put your local marketing strategy online and find more customers right down the block from you.

 

Shane JonesAbout Shane Jones : I am an internet marketer, and blogging fanatic, who loves to write about business, the current economy, anything marketing, and SEO.  I also am an avid outdoors-man, who loves hiking, rock climbing, and kayaking.  You can also follow my opinions on soccer and sports at http://www.localsoccernews.com.  Tweet me @shanejones15 about anything! I’d be happy to talk!

Hyper Local Advertising Thoughts

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The great debate for local advertising has begun.  Local Advertising is the final frontier for companies trying to expose their brands to customers.  Popular “check-in” apps like Gowalla and Foursquare have become ubiquitous.  Twitter, Facebook, Google, and other major social players are all integrating social check-ins into their respective API’s, but what does this mean for us? We’re now volunteering our personal information about our habits and preferences to major companies.  These companies can use that data to create a revenue model on a global scale.  If I am a 20-something in addison who frequents the flying saucer, it doesn’t matter that I haven’t written my glowing review on yelp.  The fact that I have checked in on my phone every week for X weeks in a row shows brand loyalty, which is more important than a simple review.

Obviously, great reviews help businesses on a local level.  they help offset the unavoidable negative reviews from trolls and rare occasions of poor service.. (these reviews are inherit parts of business.  a negative experience has an exponentially higher likelyhood of being shared than a pleasurable experience)  But tangible check ins at a business are still under-appreciated and will definitely garner greater influence as the hyper local landscape smooths out.

I believe that in the next 18 months a business model that integrates the best aspects of groupon / livingsocial, yelp, and (insert any check-in service) will start to gain momentum.  If a business can offer real viable discounts and benefits to their loyal “follower’s” then the check-in model will grow and with that the revenue model for the companies building the API’s will be realized.